Name me a person that do not know what a website is, perhaps even the elderly knew about it. It’s actually the page you browse on the web, just like the establishment or stores you walked-in to. It’s a visual representation of a company, store or even organization. It’s an important investment for every industry and even for professional practitioners like doctors and lawyers, but not everybody has all the factors to develop loyal clientele.

Having access to the World Wide Web makes the impossible possible, just look at meeting conducted online, businesses surviving after the recession and shopping without literally leaving your home. I am probably one of the million people who could not live without an Internet connection. It makes life a little bit easier for me, I could learn without literally staying at home – FREE. But what makes a good website design, what people would actually love to see and experience in your site. Technology is changing so fast, HTML – PHP – CSS – CMS, gadget and all sort of things that could be utilize and integrated in your site. Sometime we get carried away and adapt to what we see is better but forgetting the simple goal why the website is created after all – user experience regardless of the physical design.

What are the essentials of a good web design? First and most important factor is the Cross-browser Compatibility. It simply means the website runs in whatever browser visitors used to navigate the site. The best thing webmasters should do is make the site WC3 compliant.

User-friendly Interface is the next on the list. Basically it is the navigation to the sites’ interface. Users usually want a straightforward approach to a websites’ navigation. It’s a good practice to keep in mind that some users do not have the time to study how to navigate within your site; they are just there to get what they want and not figure out how to make it work.

Another thing to consider is the loading time. Flash designs and creative images are very impressive provided that they load fast,  but if visitors to your site would have to wait 3-5 minutes before it loads, I don’t think it helps attracting potential clients.

Privacy and Terms of Use should also be integrated to the site specifically if it is a corporate site. This provides a certain impression that users are protected. This is the page in the site that details how information is collected and other information with regards to user security and  privacy.

Lastly, accessibility, a good website design not only caters to the general public. It’s one factor commonly disregarded but could help reach out to wider audience.

Having a website is indeed very important nowadays, aside from cutting operational cost, it reaches a wider market without spending millions. So if you’re spending on website or would like to have one, be sure to remember that the site is created NOT for YOU but for your VISITORS, NOT for SPIDERS but for USERS.